I made a 90s video that quickly covers most of the ways people try to scam artists online. Artists loose millions every year to these scammers, and I really think a quick overview like this would help. Please share with your artist friends!
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DXMhu0PDkas/
Scott, this thread turned into exactly the kind of resource I hoped we'd build here. MselaineyArtist tracking down a stolen artwork ring, Fiona flagging a specific username, you sharing the FBI reporting link. Artists protecting each other in real time is one of the most powerful things a community can do.
Thank you! I am really happy we all have a dedicated space now
Every artist I know has gotten at least one of those weird messages asking them to upload work to some random museum website. The fact that people are still falling for these at a massive scale tells you how convincing the pitches have gotten. Glad someone put this all in one place.
Yeah, this is key. There is no shame in being victimized by this. They exploit the key things that make us human. Awareness and healthy skepticism is the only way to combat this.
If I don't get at least one a week, I'm insulted!
Thanks for the share. This week, I was "cornered" by someone impersonating a well-known artist (I hope it isn't the artist) on Tiktok that wanted to buy my art, but I had to upload it to the Metropolitan Museum of Art's website.
This is exactly what I mean in #2. Weirdly complicating things. Big sign it's fake.
In ArtGapi there are plenty of scammers; none of those who have contacted me is trustworthy. How frustrating 🙄
Thank you for this. I will be keeping it as a reference, lest I forget!!!
@Scott Wurzel Thank you. Invaluable advice.
I got a Sothebys email from a gmail account. Told them to buzz off in a nice way twice.
Thanks Scott, for your contribution. 👍
@Scott W -- thanks for the heads up. I get the ones with the NFT all the time. The last one sounded really legit, but I didn't want to give away my rights for reprinting on 2 of my more popular paintings, forever. Is this the same as the ones that tell you they're putting together digital images and want 1 work? Has anyone gotten anything through ASF from Howard King?
Yes. Two things here. First, NFTs are a form of crypto, and as I said in the video, if you are approached with any offer regarding crypto it is for sure a scam. Second is anyone asking you for "digital" use of your images. This isn't automatically a sign of bad intent, but more often than not is. If they ask for money from you in any way, bail. Ask for a terms of use in all cases. Ask questions in general. Scammers hate them, real folks are usually happy to answer them, and usually will have straight-forward answers. Scammers usually use dismissive and confusing answers to even simple questions.
Ciao a tutti. Ho condiviso il post perché anch'io scrivo su questo argomento. È importante continuare con le testimonianze. Per colpa di questi impostori, inoltre, il pubblico si è abituato a vedere opere dilettantistiche di coloro che pagano migliaia di euro per accedere alle esposizioni. Se si pensasse al peggiorare di questo fenomeno potremmo pensare che l'arte diverrà invisibile.
Love it. I don't see this being talked about enough. I've been around for awhile, so I've just become accustomed to ignoring them. But we need to keep spreading the word for those that may not be as informed. 👏
Absolutely correct. They know there are always new artists to target, so even if it is old info for us, I'm happy to keep beating the drum. It kills me when I see a post somewhere and someone already lost money before realizing they were being taken advantage of.
Shared this with two artist friends who both told me they'd already gotten suspicious DMs this month. One of them almost fell for a gallery "opportunity" before Googling the name. The 90 second format is perfect for this because people will actually watch it all the way through.
Whoever said they feel insulted if they don't get at least one scam a week genuinely made me laugh. But the TikTok impersonation story where someone tried the Metropolitan Museum angle? That is next level scary.
another one came in today, said they used art helper to find me. Marie christine Marineau
Thank you!! I will definitely be watching it & know I’ll learn a lot because at this point I know nothing about art scamming.
Great of you to take your time to research & share your own knowledge that will be most helpful!
Again, Thanks,
Teresa D Milburn Kelly
Watercolor Artist
Four people in this thread alone got the same Howard King pitch. They didn't even bother changing the name between targets! Turning this into a quick, shareable video was such a smart move, Scott.
I watched the video nice job! I have experienced #1 and #3 for more than a year: NFT and wanting to pay by check. Every time I have gotten these, it was clear to me total scams. I point to my website and am clear on what is available for sale and through the site, no other options. Most disappear into a black hole, but every once in awhile someone gets aggressive on NFT. Social media platforms and email seem to flag these now more often as spam is my experience.
Unfortunately they only want to buy my works for thousands of dollars, those fake gallerists, and when the offer is too big I immediately become suspicious.
The fact that artists are losing millions a year to these scams is something more people need to hear. Good on you for putting this together, Scott.
I received an offer of a sale to be paid with an e-cheque. I said I had not heard of it. Asked the bank ,its a scam
i received an email from a woman. first email expressed her love for my work-blah blah blah
I thanked her and said it was available for sale on my website.
second email she said she works at Christy's auction house and wanted me to call her on the app -whatsapp or something. to sell my work on some channel with them doing the marketing etc she emphasised letting her have photos of my work in high resolution.
I sent her an email stating I was the daughter of Aphrodite and to show your real by going to my website and buy big prints of all the work you love. I figured I wouldn't hear from her again.
lol she said be serious and just call me on whatsap ? I don't use that app for calling its got a bad rep for fraud. I don't know how to spell it.
A lot of people contacted me and I just say find my website and buy prints from their.
So beware indeed.
There has always been hucksters, and fraud out there.
Thanks for the compliment, but show me the money.
thanks for the link to more info about shak down artists.
And I received, on three of my paintings, a message with a number to contact WhatsApp. A US number, they said, and that they want to buy for 2000 dollars each.
Why!!!! So many scams.
Someone commented on one of my art helper posts saying they wanted to buy my prints for 3,000 dollars each. They said to message a number on WhatsApp. Definately a scam. It is good to know more about how these scams work. Thank Scott!
I'm sharing these two notifications here: these are the same people who try to scam artists here on Arthelper. Also beware of the 3Threads application; there are many fake collectors, buyers, and curators who claim they buy artworks directly there. Check first where they are located; many of them are based in Nigeria!
Scammers showed up on ArtHelper within the first week of launch. That alone tells you how fast they move and how badly this video needed to exist. Annalie’s story about someone impersonating a well known artist on TikTok is exactly the kind of warning that should be pinned to every art community.
I was contacted by someone through this site wanting to by 10 of my paintings for $3000 each!!!!! once I questioned her and looked up the 'company' it said it was a scam. Be careful of nkem22 if they contact you!!!
When someone comes to you with a price out of nowhere, it should raise caution, for sure. Watch out also for people who pretend to be from a real company or use a company name which sounds like one of the big ones, but is just a little off. Same thing for websites!
Someone impersonating an artist on TikTok to trick Annalie into uploading to a fake museum site. That story in the comments alone proves how badly this video was needed. Thank you for putting it all in one place, Scott.
Jusat rec'd the NFT thing today. BEWARE, they are using Art Helper to find artists. This one called himself Howard King, has a "website" etc. Very slick pitch
Yeah it kind of shocked me how quickly they swooped in here. It was like the same week of launch
Oh yeah. Howard King. Me too.
I checked Howard Kings site. Checked out one of the artists who's work was up for auction. Found her, sent an email asking about her experience. She said she didn't know King and never minted any NFTs. Stolen artwork scam site. I wanted to dive in to see how bad this is.
Now, is there an agency we can report him to,?
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Oh yeah! I heard from Howard as well. Upstanding guy. (not.)